Matthew

Matthew, also called Levi, works as a tax collector in Capernaum. Tax collectors were despised as collaborators with Rome and often exploited their own people. Matthew's profession makes him a social and religious outcast among Jews.

Jesus passes Matthew's tax booth and says simply: 'Follow me.' Matthew immediately rises, leaves everything, and follows Jesus. His decision is instantaneous and total, abandoning his lucrative but despised profession.

Matthew throws a great banquet for Jesus at his house. Many tax collectors and sinners come to eat with Jesus. Pharisees criticize Jesus for eating with such people. Jesus responds: 'I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.'

Matthew is chosen as one of the Twelve Apostles. In the apostle lists, he is sometimes paired with Thomas. In his own Gospel, he humbly identifies himself as 'Matthew the tax collector,' not hiding his past.

Matthew witnesses Jesus' teaching, miracles, death, and resurrection. His skills in record-keeping and writing, developed as a tax collector, prepare him for his future role as a Gospel writer.

Matthew is present in the upper room before Pentecost and receives the Holy Spirit with the other apostles. He becomes part of the foundational leadership of the Jerusalem church.

Matthew writes his Gospel, traditionally considered the first written. He emphasizes Jesus as the Jewish Messiah fulfilling Old Testament prophecy. His Gospel became the most widely used in the early church.

According to tradition, Matthew ministers to Jewish communities in Palestine before traveling to other regions. Various traditions place him in Ethiopia, Persia, or elsewhere. His later life is not recorded in Scripture.

Traditions differ about Matthew's death. Some say he died a natural death; others record martyrdom. What is certain is his legacy: the Gospel that bears his name has shaped Christian understanding of Jesus as Messiah for two millennia.